A Convention Bounce for the State? Doubtful

Though Los Angeles played host to last week’s Democratic National Convention, neither California nor the national Democratic Party gained much politically from the choice of the site.

Here in Orange County, the big news came from Rep. Loretta Sanchez. At first the Garden Grove Democrat was going to hold a fund-raiser at the Playboy Mansion. National Democratic leaders got nervous about that venue, correctly fearing that it would draw fire both from conservatives and feminists. Just when they were trying to put the sleazier parts of the Clinton legacy behind them, they did not want news stories mixing campaign finance with sex. In nightmares, they could see the headline: “Fat Cats Meet Bunnies.”

Sanchez was not clear on the concept, however, and she spurned suggestions to find a more family-friendly locale. She backed down only when Democratic leaders removed her as a convention speaker and threatened to take away her largely honorary title as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. And after they restored her to the program, she declined to speak after all. Apparently, she wanted to prove that her cave-in was not a sellout.

This dust-up helped nobody in the party. It diverted attention from Al Gore’s message and gave Republicans easy targets for ridicule. It put party leaders in the awkward position of muscling a locally popular Latina. And most of all, it hurt Sanchez’s national standing. Her initial stubbornness raised questions about her political judgment and her eventual surrender undercut her reputation for tenacity. National Journal’s Convention Daily called her “the clear front-runner for this year’s Laughingstock of the Convention Award.”

One consolation: Things could have been worse. The week before the convention, a Playboy spokesperson told the Washington Times about plans for the event: “You won’t even have to wait for a drink. It will be put in your hand.” So in addition to all else, Sanchez would have faced the wrath of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer fared better, avoiding major humiliations. Still, the convention was a mixed blessing for them. They both had dual speaking roles on Monday night, first as representatives of the host state, then with a group of female senators. Yet practically nobody was watching. Furthermore, they were part of a program that ran way too long, thereby pushing most of President Clinton’s speech out of prime time in the East.

Gov. Gray Davis had a nice time, schmoozing major contributors and raising still more money. That’s fine for his future as a national candidate--except that delegates will remember him less as an innovative governor than as a dull guy who can nevertheless throw a really good bash.

The lesser lights of the California Democratic Party spent the week scurrying around Staples Center, making political contacts and watching for entertainment celebrities. Individually, their networking probably helped their careers, but collectively they did not leave the impression that California is a land of political giants.

Years ago, our leaders left bigger footprints. What happened? Term limits, for one thing. Jessica O’Hare, a researcher with the Rose Institute of State and Local Government, writes that legislative leaders “do not need to build an empire for themselves since they will not be in office long enough to reap the benefits.” The absence of empires may be good for the taxpayers and the legislative process, but it also means that leaders have a hard time building stature in Sacramento, much less on the national stage.

Moreover, this land of spoiled sunshine is better known for spawning public problems than solving them. From O.J. to Monica to the LAPD, a major California export is embarrassment.

Democrats hoped that bringing the convention to Los Angeles would help them carry the state in November. The logic of that hope was never convincing. California viewers saw only a little more convention coverage on television than people elsewhere. And in any case, we tend to pay little attention to politics between primary day and Labor Day.

Throughout the week, speakers kept reminding the audience that the last Democratic convention in Los Angeles nominated John F. Kennedy in 1960. They neglected to mention that the state went for Richard Nixon that year. Since then, every other time a national party has met in California (Republicans in 1964 and 1996, Democrats in 1984), it has lost the state. Al Gore may well win this time, but not because of the convention.

In the conservative magazine the Weekly Standard, journalist Fred Barnes recently wrote: “In national politics, California doesn’t matter much, at least for now and probably for the foreseeable future.” The convention in Los Angeles did nothing to prove Barnes wrong.